Goldman Sachs shattered Wall Street records in the final quarter of 2025, reporting $4.3 billion in equities trading revenue—a 25 percent increase year-on-year and the highest ever recorded by a bank. The firm also saw fixed income, currencies, and commodities trading climb 12.5 percent to $3.1 billion, capping a bumper year for U.S. banks amid strong market rallies and heightened investor activity.
Investment banking fees surged alongside trading profits, with Goldman earning $2.58 billion in the fourth quarter, up 25 percent from a year earlier. The bank advised on some of the year’s most prominent deals, including Electronic Arts’ $56.5 billion leveraged buyout and Alphabet’s $32 billion acquisition of cloud security firm Wiz. Other major U.S. banks—including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Citigroup—also reported robust investment banking revenue in 2025, benefiting from lower interest rates, ample liquidity, and a more permissive regulatory climate.
Goldman’s total profits rose 12 percent to $4.6 billion in the fourth quarter, supported by strong trading and deal-making performance as well as a one-time $2.48 billion gain from exiting its Apple credit card partnership, which freed capital previously reserved for potential loan losses. Shares of Goldman, which have surged 63 percent over the past year, gained an additional 1 percent in early trading following the earnings release.
Morgan Stanley reported similarly strong results, with investment banking revenue rising to $2.41 billion from $1.64 billion a year earlier. CFO Sharon Yeshaya highlighted an “accelerating pipeline in M&A and IPOs,” pointing to increased activity in healthcare and industrial sectors as sponsors pursue dual-track strategies, either through M&A transactions or public listings. The firm’s profits jumped 18 percent to $4.4 billion, fueled by equities trading and investment banking strength.
Goldman also posted record quarterly revenue from management fees at $3.09 billion, reflecting a strategic emphasis on more stable, fee-based income to complement its traditionally volatile trading and investment banking divisions. In December, the bank moved to bolster its asset management footprint with a $2 billion acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, an active exchange-traded fund provider, as its assets under supervision grew to $3.61 trillion from $3.14 trillion a year earlier.
CEO David Solomon emphasized the bank’s strong client engagement and momentum heading into 2026, describing a “flywheel of activity” across Goldman’s franchise. The board raised the quarterly dividend to $4.50 a share, signaling confidence in continued growth and profitability across trading, advisory, and asset management operations.
Goldman’s record performance illustrates the resilience of large U.S. banks in a year shaped by market volatility, strategic deal-making, and a focus on fee-generating businesses, positioning the firm to sustain momentum in 2026.
